Mercy Without Consquence
by SilverOcelot
Summary: Clarke leaves everyone one night at the dropship to locate Anya somewhere in the woods, wishing to stop the war she didn't want to start in the first place.
1. Chapter 1

They let her go, all of them. And not one of them tried to stop her. Raven, Bellamy, Octavia, Finn, the rest of the Ark survivors and her delinquent friends. They were all too afraid to go, and Clarke began to hate both sides of it. This was something she wanted to accomplish, alone or not. It was a foolish decision of her to make, especially to trek through the open woods at night. She thought at least someone would've thought the same way as her.

Her personal mission was to prove the woman they met recently, a grounder named Anya, wrong. Clarke started a war she didn't know how to end, and she was going to do what it took to end it before it could really start. no one else on the drop ship saw it this way, they believed the war had already begun and they were just surviving it.

Clarke was alone. She refused to equip herself with a gun for protection to further prove her point that they all wanted peace. Her knife was there holstered on the side of her hip more of as an object of survival; to cut and to hunt. Because as far as she knew, Clarke had no clue where she was going. No sense of direction to where Anya was, if she was near in a camp, or simply going in the wrong direction leading away entirely. Clarke reached the bridge to where they met and crossed to the other side, and that made her one step closer.

The next hint was the faint smell of smoke in the air, a fire nearby. Her feet were tired and aching but she continued forward. A small crack filled the silent air, Clarke halted in her tracks for the time being, deciding on if she was being followed. The noise was either the snapping of twigs on the ground or cracks of the fire in the distance. She wasn't sure. The territory further each step became more and more familiar to her, and not in a good way. Passing a few trees, it came back to her that she was approaching the camp where she failed to save Tris.

Once the realization came to her, a large arm hooked over Clarke's hand with the hand suctioning to her mouth to avoid her from screaming. She did scream, however, muffling into the hand. She was met with a low shush once a blade came to her throat, and she understood to keep quiet.

"Yu, Skaiprisa." The grounder was rather tall, it wasn't Anya, but rather a large male grounder in her place. "State your purpose or be slain." His hand slowly fell from her mouth and one word quickly gasped out of Clarke's mouth.

"Anya." Clarke was careful to breath silently to catch her breath, the cold blade still against her throat. The blonde girl held her hands up in surrender, signaling no harm was coming from her. "I wish to speak with her. Is she near?" Her nerves calmed, subsiding greatly once she no longer had a blade to her throat. The grounder looked around in the distance for others, trained to sense traps and ambushes when they came.

"Anya will not be pleased with your unexpected arrival. You've been warned. Move."

Clarke obliged right away to keep her safety at whatever level it was at with the grounder man. He looked familiar to her, unable to place exactly why. She guessed he was one of the horsemen when they first met at the bridge. She walked in front of him with his sword held up to her to move, guiding her in the direction of their camp. Clarke hated feeling like a prisoner, there was nothing else she could do to help prevent war between her people and the grounders.

They approached the camp not even ten minutes later of walking in the direction she was guided in. Clarke saw all the stares upon the faces of every grounder gathered around a large fire as predicted. Some glared, others snarled, and none of them were the grounder she was really looking for. Clarke did pick up that they used a different language than English to communicate with. That fact intrigued her, and gave her the hope of learning it one day if she was to live on the ground with them.

The grounder led Clarke away from the fire and to a large tent outside the encampment. It was Anya's tent. Inside, the grounder woman was seen meditating around a few lit candles, almost mirroring a seance of some sort. Clarke tensed up upon seeing her again, at the same time felt a sense of relief. She couldn't place her finger on why her sense of safety skyrocketed. This night, warpaint wasn't shadowed around her eyes, only thin black scrubs to where it had been wiped away.

"Forgive my intrusion. I found this one lurking among the forest east of here by herself." The grounder man informed Anya. Her face lightly scrunched up in annoyance to being interrupted during her time of serenity. When her eyes opened up, Clarke Griffin was the last person she thought she would see before them.

"Skaiprisa, in the flesh." There was that nickname again. Clarke wished she knew what the second part of that phrase was for them both to call her it. "As you were, Nyko. Make sure she wasn't followed by anyone else Skaikru. She stays with me." Clarke's skin crawled to Anya's tone. Her goal was to stay unafraid to make things easier for peace. Anya made that task that much harder with one stare, resulting in a hard gulp.

"As you wish." Nyko complied without second guessing his own judgements. Clarke barely turned her head to hear him leave through the way they came in, the flaps hitting against each other.

"I wasn't lurking around by any means. I was looking for you specifically." Clarke tried defending her actions. "I don't want a war, Commander."

Anya laughed, and Anya rarely laughed at anything. "You are such a fool, Sky Girl. I am not the Commander. If I was, your people would be dead already." The grounder stood up from her cross legged position, stretching her legs back out as she walked over to Clarke, beating the blonde's height by only a little. "Did you really think sacrificing yourself all the way out here, by yourself, was going to solve all of your problems? Finding me should have been your fear, not your mission."

"I-"

Clarke opened her mouth to speak, except Anya saw the knife holstered around Clarke's waist that Nyko had failed to disarm her of. Her hands were quick to grab the blade by the handle and pulling it out up to Clarke's throat, making that second time in twenty minutes she was held prisoner.

"How important is your life to your people?" Anya challenged her to make a move, using tactics taught to her that she was passing down to the Commander. Clarke tensed up and flushed her mind away from the question. "Would they mourn for you after you left them?" The cold blade pressed more up into Clarke's neck but not enough to draw any blood.

Anya heard a small whimper escape from Clarke's lips, the only sign of fear she showed to her, and faltered. She lowered the knife from her throat showing a small sign of weakness herself. The newfound feeling shook the general away from Clarke and tossed the knife to the ground.

Clarke watched closely as to why Anya spared her life this time. The two barely knew each other well, but Clarke knew Anya well enough that this was unlike her or the grounders attitude to back off so easily on outsiders. Her knowledge of safety grew more with Anya unexpectedly.

"I know you don't mean to harm us intentionally. If an attack happens, both sides will have casualties. All I'm asking for is a way to avoid that. Please."

"It's not up to me to decide." Anya breathed deeply and paced over to her tent opening, pushing the curtains to one side. "Have Nyko escort back in the direction you came from."

Clarke turned her body and frowned to her dismay feeling unaccomplished in her mission. But she couldn't go back to the dropship now to face everyone who chose not to stick with her, who would rather stay put partying and drinking their faces off all night long expecting war without consequence.

"Can I stay instead? With you?" Clarke was full of surprises tonight, and Anya was unsure how to face each one of them. "I don't really have a place to go right now. And despite you pushing a knife against my throat, I feel safe with you." She chewed on her bottom lip.

"You give me more reasons to call you foolish, Skaiprisa." Anya wasn't the only one showing off weakness. The Commander could never find out about them, nor could any of her people around her in the camp. "Fine. You interrupted my meditation, now you get the privilege to meditate with me. Sit." With an exasperated sigh, Anya closed the curtains to her tent and pinned them shut to keep anyone from barging in anymore.

"Thank you." Clarke removed her holster from around her waist and placed the knife back inside. Anya was watching her closely for any ploys being plotted in Clarke's mind. It was still the smallest whimper that changed Anya's mind. She never showed mercy, but there was also a first time for everything. "Can you explain to me what Skaiprisa means? Minus the Skai part, I get that."

"Sky Princess." Anya pierced Clarke's eyes with her gaze as she watched Clarke place the knife and holster next to her lantern in the tent. "One of my men heard one of yours call you that."

"So why do you call me that if you hate me?"

Anya rolled her eyes to the question and resumed her position back for meditation next to Clarke. Clarke never meditated before so she copied the stance necessary to do so. Anya ignored Clarke's question and instead quipped one of her own. "Have you not meditated before, Sky Girl?" Clarke shook her head yet was eager to learn how to. "You have a choice when you meditate. To let get everything on your mind and focus on keeping it blank, or focus on one specific thing and hold it. Control your breathing."

Clarke nodded and shut her eyes to give the first choice a go. Her mind went blank, yet it wouldn't stay blank. Something, or someone, chose to barge right back in. It was either the the last time she saw her father, Jake, before he was floated into space or the image of the rest of her friends and her mother at on the brink of death if things don't go their way.

"What do you usually think about when you meditate?"

"The peace and quiet." Anya muttered back with a wince in her eyes again. Clarke sighed out in slight frustration, like it couldn't be that hard to sit cross legged and shut everything out from around her. For Anya it was easy, like second nature. And it was what Clarke said to her next that threw her off for the second time that night, beating Clarke's unexpected arrival.

"Got something in mind now?" The grounder woman asked.

"Yeah. You." Clarke's eyes shut at the same time Anya's opened, staring over at the blonde sky girl who seemed rather calm now, and it was strangely because of her. Anya couldn't place why, never having done anything much but throw obstacles at Clarke and sparing her life tonight. The last thought on her mind; feelings. Clarke barely knew her, and she barely knew Clarke. To their people, they were enemies. Tonight, they were not.

Much to Anya's surprise, no more questions or any talking of sort for a good half hour while they sat next to each other meditating. Clarke's heart rate significantly dropped from its heightened state previously through the night. For all she knew, it could've been her last night alive if it weren't for Anya. She quite enjoyed the silence, minus the fire cracking outside the tent yards away with other grounders speaking in the distance. Clarke only focused on her own breathing and listening to Anya's right next to her. More importantly, the fact that she proved everyone wrong back at the dropship helped her settle as well, because she was inches away from the grounder everyone feared the most, and they found peace together.

Neither knew how much time had passed, it was the small yawn that Clarke gave out that ended their session, causing them to open their eyes at the same time to each other.

"Get some rest, skaiprisa. Tomorrow marks the start of a long journey for you." In Anya's tent was a small bed fitted for her size, and she sighed to the thought of sharing. She could be cruel at times, no question or thought, but as long as she welcomed Clarke as a guest and not a prisoner, she would treat her as such.

"Are you taking me to the Commander?" Clarke stood up to her feet with Anya.

"You wanted to plead your surrender to me when you thought I was the Commander. Do you wish to do the same with the real one?"

"A treaty to call off any further attacks, Anya. Not surrender." Clarke frowned to her, maybe she did need some rest to clear her mind off of things. Anya removed her black general coat from her shoulders and placed it on one of the few tables set up, and blew out all candles, letting the lantern dimly light up the inside of her tent.

Upon nearly lifting her shirt above her head, Anya caught Clarke's gaze on her and paused to stare back at her. "Strip." That caught Clarke by surprise increasing the pink forming on her cheeks. "You haven't slept out in these parts of the woods, Sky Girl. The heat becomes intense, and you sweat waterfalls." Clarke, to this day, had never seen a waterfall with her own two eyes. She was shown them up in space, and even painted a few on canvas, with hopes of one day getting to see one and take a swim.

"Yeah, okay. Um...just going to, yeah." Clarke fumbled with her words while she slowly peeled each piece of her clothing away from her skin, letting the cool night air splash against her. Their clothes piled up on the ground for the next morning. The blonde girl focused on not looking up to the other woman shedding away her clothes, and keeping her mind away from the fact that the cool air managed to harden up her nipples through her bra.

That simple task failed because Clarke's eyes peered up at Anya and fell into a small daze of admiration. It wasn't a hidden fact Anya's body could be mistaken for one of a goddess underneath all the clothing she did wear. The tone of her stomach and muscles along her arms, the way her tattoos curved perfectly against her skin. She wasn't completely nude, Anya was draped with loose rags resembling underwear that Clarke wore, but close to it.

"You're drooling." Anya stated feeling the blonde's gaze reflect off of her and flashed a smirk towards her. "Is staying in my tent going to pose a problem for you, Sky Girl?"

"You seem to be asking a lot of questions, Anya. It's like you don't trust me bunking with you." Clarke returned the smirk to her in a lighthearted moment between them. Now it was Clarke who felt on display, watching Anya's eyes scan each square inch of her body in one solid motion. As Anya stepped closer to her, Clarke could feel her skin bump up like the grounder was teasing her. "Besides, Anya, I'm not afraid to tell you that you're really beautiful."

"Hmm." Anya hummed. The grounder pushed the cloth blanket on her bed aside for herself to climb into first, moving her body aside to leave enough space for Clarke. Clarke wasted little time feeling herself wanting to be closer to Anya on both a physical and mental state, and saw the road ahead of that to achieve.

Clarke's skin glided against Anya's to get comfortable in their sleeping situation. It had been too long for Anya to remember the last time she shared her quarters with anyone, and now she was sharing it with the Sky Princess. On Clarke's end, she took a deep breath that she exhaled into a tiny smile because she was safe with Anya. And she was right. The heat in the forest picked up greatly on the two of them. Clarke was tired and shut her eyes immediately to get some rest.

In one swift motion just before Clarke could full drift away into her sleep, Clarke's chest was met with Anya's back as Anya leaned back into Clarke like a puzzle piece. Anya wouldn't have done this first choice, the decision beat the hell out of fidgeting throughout the night avoiding each other. Clarke didn't have the strength nor the will to question Anya anymore that night. Once her arms snaked around the grounder's body, Clarke was asleep just like that holding Anya close against her.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Quick Author's note: Thank you all for the positive feedback on the first chapter! It was intended to be one-shot from the get go and purposely left open just in case other chapters came along, and now here we are. So please, enjoy this second chapter and thank you again!  
_**

* * *

 _"Are you telling me this is something you don't want from me? Something you haven't desired?" Anya's nose grazed up and down Clarke's pink flushed cheek with her hands firmly gripping against her hips. "From my perspective, Sky Girl, I see that you came to see me personally for your own goals." Anya was on top of Clarke, a shy and well excited Clarke, teasing her with her actions to trigger the blonde's reactions. Their skin glued together with sweat melded together perfectly. Anya was right, Clarke thought. It did get intensely hot during the night, in more ways than one.  
_

 _"Anya." Clarke whispered her name softly as her fluttered shut for them to reopen again. There was no response she could give the grounder woman that would be a lie. Because the fact was, Clarke wanted this. Clarke wanted Anya and wanted Anya on top of her, teasing her in sacred ways only she knew how.  
_

 _"I'm here, Skaiprisa. Right with you. Right where you want me to be." Anya's lips ghosted over Clarke's as she spoke, letting the gentle breeze of her breath hit the blonde's lips. Clarke had leaned her head up enough hoping for a taste of Anya's lips, only to realize those lips were now peppering kiss against her neck._

 _"Anya..." Clarke whispered again. This time, it was more a of beg, a sign of welcome, a green light to pursue whatever she planned. "I do want you. I want you." Anya smirked to Clarke's chatter, pressing her lips softer and softer to her skin and trailing those kisses lower on Clarke's body. From her neck, through the valley of Clarke's breasts she pitied were trapped in her bra still, down to her stomach. That was a sensitive spot on her body that Anya would remember forever. Each kiss made Clarke tense and tighten her body, allowing it to flex the abs on her body._

 _Clarke was getting a little impatient but made no advance to rush Anya. Well, almost. Between this charade and the temperature of the forest, the least bit of clothing added heat. In a swift motion, the blonde reached back subtly behind her back to unhook her bra and toss it aside to the ground. By then, Anya's interest had already swayed. The general's fingers looped into the last piece of clothing on her body, threading it down Clarke's legs and off of her feet.  
_

 _"Hmm." Anya hummed to her in kind and lowered her kisses down to Clarke's waist, stopping just above the heat between Clarke's legs. "One more time, Skaiprisa. What is it that you truly want?"_

 _Clarke groaned out impatiently again. This time was it, she thought. All she had to do was repeat those last three words again, and both of their wishes would come true. "I want you..."_

"Anya." Clarke spoke the grounder's name in her sleep, tightening her arms around her in her bed. Half asleep or not, Clarke was very surprised yet really happy she could still feel a body in front of her.

"If you say my name one more damn time in your sleep, you'll surely regret coming here."

Clarke gasped lightly awaking from her dream holding onto the hope that it wasn't just a dream. Her eyes stared blankly at Anya's back, giving her an up close view of more tattoos and small slashes covering a great portion. Kill marks. They were on her shoulders scattering to her back. Anya didn't like having to mark her chest too often so no marks were made there. Clarke was no longer in her dream and that crushed her morning spirit. Hearing Anya's voice again, however, made up for it.

"I'm sorry if I woke you."

"I've been awake."

That thought sent a chill down Clarke's spine. How long has Anya been awake exactly and how many times did she say her name in her sleep? Did she hear each time? Embarrassing. Clarke wasn't aware that Anya was the one who let her sleep the entire time. Sleep was precious among the grounders and it was another luxury that Anya granted for Clarke to being their guest, not a prisoner. According to Clarke's watch she received from her father, she had gotten seven and a half hours of sleep, Anya with about seven.

Before Clarke could ask her anything more, Anya switched her position on the bed and faced her, causing Clarke to retract her arms back to her own body. Their eyes connected once again, and Clarke thought she was dreaming again. Anya in her early morning state she could describe as completely adorable. Anya would threaten her, possibly even follow through on that threat, if she would've called her that. The grounder's face resembled that of someone who had slept peacefully through the night without interruption. Never would she admit having someone sleeping next to her be the case, let alone that person being Clarke Griffin.

"How did you sleep?" Clarke broke the tension off from them for a couple minor seconds. Judging by the way Anya was gazing back at her, she could guess as good as she slept.

"Just fine." Though it wasn't the response Clarke had hoped for, it was a response. Clarke almost wanted to laugh. She thought this would be a story to tell that no one would believe. Anya went soft on her, let her sleep in her bed, and initiated their cuddle session. It was for tease purposes only, black mail was never registered as a thought. Her mouth opened to ask the same question to Clarke, her eyebrow raised to the blonde turned her otherwise. "I told you the heat would be intense."

Clarke's head fell to a slight tilt to what she meant. Her eyes gave it away, peering down at Clarke's expose chest. Her bra was on the ground next to the bed, exactly where she had tossed it in her dream. The blonde brought her arms up to cover, leaving Anya's imagination with a lot to remember. She must've taken it off in her dream at the same time, and now she was even more embarrassed that her bare chest was against Anya the entire night.

"Hmm." Anya lightly smirked and pushed herself out of her bed to stretch her body out. Clarke eyed her while covering herself up with the fur blanket she saw made from the fur of deer, or what were deer around here. Anya let out a small yawn, causing a smile to form on Clarke's face seeing that adorable factor come into play again. "The sooner you get dressed, the sooner we can leave to meet the Commander. It will take nearly a day for the journey."

"Am I allowed a detour?" Clarke bit her lip nervously because it was a question she was going to keep to herself until later. "I would feel better knowing that my people are aware that I'm okay and I'm safe. If I don't go back, I'm scared they'll try something with your people and my goal to end this war will be for nothing." She heard a huff from the grounder while she redressed herself, a sight that made Clarke sad to see. "Please."

"Get yourself dressed, lightly." Anya had left her jacket off of her shoulders and leaving just her silver strapless shirt on with her black jeans that have faded over the last few months of constant wearing. She had an idea in her mind, not one of her smartest to date, but one to keep Clarke's position among them in order.

Clarke waited for Anya to unpin the curtains of the tent and walk out to her people to do so. First, she lifted the fur up on herself to make sure she wasn't completely naked, praising herself for keeping something on. She bit her lip and groaned in frustration, lifting the rim of her underwear up to notice the heat forming between her legs. That's what she gets for cuddling up to the grounder she called beautiful.

Her fingers trailed against her waist daring herself to go further with her own fingers and scratch her own itch that's slowly been getting worse since her one time go with Finn. She regretted it shortly after for Raven's sake, putting her people's needs first before hers. A fucking break would've been nice. Groaning again, Clarke pushed herself out of bed and threw her shirt back on with her jeans, leaving her bra and jacket behind.

"Anya!" Clarke called out not even two steps out of the tent. The grounders didn't forget about Clarke being there in their camp. Any sight of outsiders brings their tension levels through the roof, specifically ones that came from the sky. Swords were drawn and bows were armed and ready to fire on call.

There wouldn't be a call for attack made by the general. Her name echoed into her ear and rushed her feet back to their encampment to see what the commotion was about. When she saw Clarke Griffin frozen in her tracks, hands up for surrender, and terror on her face, Anya growled lowly at her own people.

"Lower your fucking weapons and stand down immediately!" Anya shouted to her people followed by a form of Trigedasleng to go with it. "I said now!" Among the grounders, a few mumbled and chattered with each other about this decision before ultimately lowering their weapons down from Clarke. She really couldn't catch a fucking break lately with them. All but one.

"The Sky Girl is a guest with our people from now on until declared our enemy. Is that clear?" Anya barked out with a loud response from her people that shaded both a clear understanding with a hint of apology. "Come here."

Clarke dropped her hands and made no further eye contact with any grounder in sight. Besides Anya, the next grounder she knew the most, Nyko, had approached the two again and bowed his head to the general. "My apologies, Anya. Many were unsure what came of the Sky Girl last night. It will not happen again." His eyes adverted over to Clarke's. "Forgive us, Skaiprisa. You are our guest."

This was a sight to see in Clarke's eyes that was a little something new to her, and at the same time, refreshing. Yes, other grounders still looked at her like they were going to set her free and then hunt her for themselves. Kindhearted people weren't extinct. Everyone with a two hundred foot radius all had the same goal; survive. That was Clarke's mindset for her people and theirs.

With Clarke safely at her side, Anya looked to Nyko and nodded her head toward the other direction. "You are in charge of hunting parties today. Best archers on horseback, novices on foot." Nyko complied with another bow of his head to the two and wasted no time in gathering up those who were ready to set out. "You, with me."

"Where are we going?"

"We are staying behind. You dressed lightly? Good. We won't be far from here."

Clarke waited for more information to be told to her, whether or not it pertained to Anya's decision about going back to the dropship or being taken to the Commander immediately. Nothing was said, and Anya wasn't really secretive from the little time they've been in each other's lives. Two horses were brought over to them, forming a tiny smile on the blonde's lips. She's never ridden a horse in her life but read about them in space, and was eager to learn. It made Clarke forget about her own question.

"Hey there." Clarke brought her hand up to the darker horse and pet it gently, receiving a low but happy neigh from the animal. Anya studied both of them closely watching the bond form and mounting her horse promptly. Clarke caught her gaze and boosted herself onto her horse's back and grabbed the reigns so she wouldn't fall off. For her first time, she was doing great and hadn't fallen off. She couldn't imagine faceplanting in front of a village full of grounders and act like everything was okay.

"Her name is Midnight, one of our wiser riders. She'll take good care of you, than you of her." Anya took the lead for them and led the way out of the camp, keeping a slower pace so Clarke would get used to riding. "Hang on at all times. If you fall, it's your duty to get back up and keep with me. I won't slow down."

"Don't worry, I won't fall behind. Midnight will keep me with you." Clarke added a little smirk with that made Anya chant a loud _'ha!'_ for her horse to pick its feet up and start to gallop at the exit of the camp. Midnight followed them and sensed Clarke's nervousness, so the animal was extra careful with its footsteps.

Wherever their next destination was, it would only be the two of them.

* * *

"Is that what I think it is?" Clarke rode up next to Anya on her horse with plenty of excitement in her voice. Not once the blonde fell behind, Midnight wouldn't let them. She began to wonder if this was all of dream of itself. Waking up next to someone she couldn't help but be attracted to, riding a horse for the first time through the forest, the sound of running water faintly hitting her ears.

Days like this on the ground made it all worth coming here. The sun high in the sky reflecting off of the trees and the rocks that had been flooded with rain days before. It was almost paradise. Like nothing bad had ever went wrong and there was no hint or sight to what had really had happened here. Soon, they arrived.

Passing a small patch of trees and a barrage of tall grass, there it was. The river flowed elegantly to their right, and its stream followed up to what Clarke cared about the most; the moving curtain of water known as a waterfall. It came into her sight, and she had to be dreaming now. Sounds of splashing water became louder. Clarke's eyes were hooked, mesmerized by the water cascading down from rocks and smaller falls above.

"It's...it's gorgeous." Clarke marveled as their horses slowed their step up to a higher bank. Anya stepped down from her ride not bother to tying it to a tree or post. Seeing Clarke's reaction both confused and interested her, curling her lips into the tiniest of smiles.

"Have you never seen a waterfall in your life, Sky Girl?" Clarke shook her head to the question and dismounted from Midnight, seeing a pathway that lead down to the river itself. Both women led their horses down the path where Clarke was still in awe of what was in front of her. "This is why we dressed light to come here. Strip." There was that word again, in less than twenty hour hours. Their eyes locked again, and this time Clarke's eyebrow bent up.

"We're going to swim here?" She asked curiously, met with a single nod.

"We're going to bathe here. There is not a river nor waterfall like this for miles out of our direction. A guest of us is a guest of our Heda, and you shall be brought to them unharmed and treated like one of us." It was a new tradition, really. Under their recently chosen Commander, a few of their customs were tweaked.

"I'm starting to think you're enjoying me without clothes on. Is this a grounder tradition as well?" Clarke teased already planning on taking her shirt off, forgetting that she had left her bra back in the tent, and halted.

"Actually, yes." Anya rolled her eyes and stepped further to the water, throwing Clarke way off to what she was implying towards. "With cold days come hot ones like these. Being without clothing isn't looked at differently, it's a part of our life. Embrace it." Anya lead by example, lifting off the strapless shirt of hers that met the ground. Clarke stared, yet again. Who wouldn't? A half naked Anya stretching her arms up to the sky to remove her clothing, showing off the V cut that formed at her waist. Clarke thought it was one of the hottest things in the world, beating out when Octavia had stripped down to swim. And before Anya could speak up about her drooling again, Clarke mirrored her.

Both pairs of shirts and jeans were piled separately in the grass next to each other, both taking in a quick sight of each other. Clarke needed a distraction, the waterfall swim with Anya was one she thought could be a myth. Clarke stepped into the water first and submerged herself underneath to escape the heat, while the grounder general paced herself slowly into the water to wash her body.

Emerging from the water in grace, Clarke kicked her feet into the water to keep herself afloat, meeting her eyes with the waterfall in front of her. "It's so beautiful." Within three minutes, she never wanted to leave. But there were other missions that needed to be fulfilled, other than idly swimming next to Anya on a perfect morning.

"Wash up. We'll make our leave when our skin begins to wrinkle."

"We're going to the dropship first, and then I'll see the Commander."

Clarke turned herself around unexpectedly meeting Anya face to face, unaware of how close she was. Eyes meeting eyes, then eyes meeting lips. Subtlety left a long time ago for these two. The blonde questioned what would happen if she did make a move, if her face would get struck or simply get turned down. It was almost worth the chance anyway.

"You wouldn't let a prisoner make that decision. You said so yourself that I'm a guest, and I want my people to know that I'm okay. Let me do this, I won't ask for anything else from you as long as I'm with you." Even with the splashes and the horses walking around the edge of the river to receive a drink, she could hear the sound of a defeated sigh.

"Swear. My orders only, you follow them." There was no other choice to be given.

"I swear." With a nod of her head, Clarke reached down into the water to find Anya's hand to grasp, making their deal official to one another. Her hold was weaker than expected to be, Clarke notched it another feature unlike her. "Besides, I would really hate to see us pitted against each other again. You saved my life this morning, and last night. Don't I owe you something in return?" Feet were brushed up against one another, and Clarke could see the defense wall lower a small gate of acceptance. A soft hand went to her shoulder, grazing up towards the back of her neck. Clarke made most of the chance she was given being all alone again with Anya, and leaned in looking for more than a handshake. Their bodies were pressed up together and Clarke couldn't believe she was holding herself together this long.

"Wash up, Sky Princess. Enjoy the waterfall while we're here." Anya wouldn't allow herself to falter so quick, so easily, not to someone who was her enemy a few days ago. Her feelings came second to what was expected of her by her clan, and more importantly her Commander. Mentally she cursed herself for letting things slip by this far, mere inches away from a kiss she well deserved. And...wanted. With the smallest tilt of her head, Clarke stopped herself, hovering her lips over Anya's to where their breath fumed against their faces. They wanted each other, after such a short time whether out of lust or something more, it was real.

One small push could've changed things forever. It wouldn't stop the war boiling up between their people, but it could have certainly been the start with each other, much like what had been kindling between Octavia and her interest with the fellow grounder, Lincoln.

"I'll hold you to this." Clarke backed off with a smile on her face and swam back in the direction towards the waterfall so she could have it pour onto her. When Anya was ready, she was going to be there. Occasional looks were further exchanged through their swim and bath, ones that ended too early or lasted too long.

Clarke exited the water first and got dressed rather quickly so she could look upon the waterfall and Anya together as one, enjoying both views equally, as Midnight trotted up to join with her. It was still unbelievable in her mind that she was brought here in the first place to enjoy such a beautiful sight, and next time she was willing to have her sketchbook on hand to capture the moment forever.

Their next destination was the dropship.


	3. Chapter 3

There wasn't much talk through the forest again. With the heatwave cooling down, it made the ride there much more tolerable. If the trip required them to wear less clothing, Clarke didn't believe she would make it. She found herself on a double edged sword situation as it was. Their silence was due to the blonde refusing to say anything after she attempted to kiss Anya, afraid of what would happen if she brought it up. Not bringing it up sucked even more.

Their horses tread along pathways one after the other. There wasn't a rush to get to the dropship, yet they wanted to get there and get out to see the Commander before one party grew impatient of the other. Clarke smiled to herself while Midnight picked up the pace to meet the Anya's, thinking about how close she was to the fearless grounder's face, her lips with her own, and the vibe that shot through both of them. Clarke counted how long in her head, and she was two seconds too late from sharing a kiss that would've changed her life.

"We're almost there. Beyond that treeline is the dropship." Clarke pointed out and received a silent response in return, nothing but a glance up and back down. Their horses galloped up together towards their next stop, Midnight rode ahead in their journey, reading Clarke's mind and getting the lead on Anya and her horse, Crescent. She was right, Midnight was a wise one. They came to a halt and Anya found herself in a small state of confusion.

"What is this?" Anya's first words came out since the waterfall into a staredown, reacting as if she was about to be betrayed.

"I don't know if you should come with me. Some of my people are terrified of you, and I definitely know of a few others that wouldn't hesitate to harm you."

"And you think I am fearful of your people? Cowardly rats from the sky?"

Clarke approached her, trotting Midnight alongside Crescent. Tension was definitely still a factor with them and it hadn't even reached the twenty four hour mark. "I'm not saying that. Knowing them, I'm unsure if they'll be accepting of you as your people were accepting of me." Accepting being used in a vague way, but nonetheless, the grounders allowed Clarke passage, safety, and shelter within their grounds.

Being up close to each other again, Anya feared something else she chose to ignore before but couldn't turn away from it this time; the glint of care in Clarke's eyes towards her, caring about her safety with her people much like she protected Clarke from hers.

"I can hold my own. If they fear me like you say, let them. They should. Because I see no reason to fear them." Her toughness wasn't just an act, Clarke knew she was the real deal. It still didn't stop her from trying except, her chance was swept away. "Besides Sky Girl, I trust you enough to return the favor. Especially since you harbor a traitor to my people in your...ship."

"Lincoln isn't a traitor. We made a mistake with him and we're making up for it now. I promise. He's safe with us and you will be too." That earned her a rightful glare.

"I don't make promises if I cannot keep them. I would advise the same from you."

Clarke was going to keep that promise if her life depended on it. Not that Anya needed any of her help keeping herself safe, but she wasn't going to let anyone harm her the way Lincoln was harmed by them. The blonde was in her debt, and she saw this as a great and much needed opportunity to prove to the grounders that they can be well to each other when trust is built.

"Just for the next twenty minutes, trust me. And remember that your orders become final after this. I meant that." Clarke guided Midnight ahead of Crescent towards the treeline ahead of them. Five minutes away from the dropship is where they were, Clarke took a deep hoping breath that things wouldn't get too out of control once her and Anya arrived.

* * *

"Where are you going, Octavia?"

"Where the fuck do you think I'm going? To find Clarke. Remember her? She was just here last night and we let her wander off by herself into the woods like the best friends we are?"

Octavia was pissed off with everyone, herself especially included. Their main objective was to stay alive and stick together with one another. The night before however, she couldn't bring herself to leave Lincoln by himself because she was afraid of Bellamy, and more importantly John Murphy, torturing him again. It was a tough choice to make to let Clarke leave by herself. Then again, it gave her the right to be pissed no one else would go.

"Get out of my way, Bellamy. I'll be fine." Octavia equipped herself with a canteen of water and a handy knife she accustomed herself with since landing on the ground.

"I'm not letting you go by yourself, O." Bellamy crossed his arms with an argument.

"Yeah, duh. Either you come with me or Lincoln comes with me. And don't give me the 'listen to your older brother' speech about this so make your choice fast, I'm leaving now." Octavia and Clarke were working on being better friends to each other, and it worked out really well for them after reaching the ground. They looked out for each other and were grateful to one another for that.

But Octavia could read her brother better than her favorite book, and the look he was giving to her meant she was going to have to free Lincoln first.

"Octavia, don't. He's dangerous." As Bellamy sorely anticipated, she didn't listen and left her room in the dropship to go after Lincoln who was being held in a separate room on the ship. He followed through the halls of the ship, being cut off by Finn and few other of the delinquents.

"Bellamy, we might need your help outside. Jasper and Monty claim they were outside of the walls for food gathering and heard horses nearby." Bellamy sighed and gave them a nod to tag along with them, by then Octavia used the distraction to her advantage and snuck away to the room Lincoln was being held in.

Back outside of the ship, teenagers sent from the Ark station in space were around everywhere. Some were in and out of the outpost bringing in food they've gathered, while others brought in miscellaneous items to salvage from. Raven found herself having a feel day with some of the old tech and scrap brought in. The scary image was that they were armed, and no one could figure out if it was for their own good, and for their defense, or the start of something worse towards a dark path.

To their knowledge, the sounds of horses galloping in the faint distance was long gone. Bellamy brushed it aside as a grounder attempt to study their dormant position, plotting out an attack on them or to rescue Lincoln. He gave the order and the gates slowly opened to them. Guns were raised up in defense when they saw one of their own, none other than Clarke Griffin, walk towards the gate. They weren't aiming at her. They were aiming at the grounder walking next to her which only confirmed Clarke's fear of bringing her.

"Clarke!"

Approaching the open gates with Anya by her side, Clarke saw a group of her friends on the other side waiting for her along with the automatic weapons loaded and aimed in their direction. Her suspicions were correct, and Anya couldn't say she wasn't surprised to say the least. What did surprise her was her vision being blocked as Clarke stepped in front of her with her arms out to the sides and shielding her.

It surprised Anya more than it did Bellamy and her friends that Clarke was still faithful to her word, not that she asked her for protection in the first place.

"Lower your guns, no one is here to harm anyone." Clarke tried to plea.

"How can we be so sure about that, princess? We can't trust her or any of them right now. It's too dangerous." The guns weren't lowered and Clarke was beginning to fear whether or not they could be convinced or if it was too late. She wasn't moving from her place until she was certain.

"Fuck this, Bellamy. I say we light them both up right now. Light them all up and let them know that this is our territory now." Murphy sneered and Bellamy instantly regretted ever letting someone hand him an automatic rifle in the first place.

"Shut your mouth, Murphy. No one shoots unless they have my go." Bellamy instructed them. With being distracted by John Murphy's arrogance in his ear and the struggling finger on the trigger towards Clarke and Anya, he didn't even hear his sister come out of the dropship and sprinting past them to get out of the gate.

Octavia caused another problem for her brother and his band of armed gunmen, the same problem Clarke was giving them. Clarke was shielding Anya away in cover, and now Octavia had moved in front of Clarke to shield her away from anyone who was aimed at them. Bellamy quickly began to lose the grip of his rifle that was now pointed at his sister, afraid that any further action could cause a rift in their relationship. The rest kept their aim on point but were now skeptical on the situation.

"You make one hell of a return, Griffin. I'll give you that. I hope this is the right choice whatever the hell we're trying to prove here."

Clarke lost her words in her mouth to reveal the obvious reasons to why the three of them were staring down gun barrels in front of them. And they were thrown one last surprise in their direction when a freed Lincoln offered himself in the same way, shielding Octavia behind his body with his arms laid out to the side.

"Are we done with this charade already?" Clarke acted as if her and Anya weren't on a tight schedule to leave the grounds to go meet the Commander. But this was the progress she was striving for with the grounders and her people. The charade irked about was the sign she wanted both sides to see, that their people could coincide and live together, and protect each other when the opportunities arose.

"Lower your weapons and let them in." Along with Bellamy, they did as they were told. Murphy was completely against it and imagined open firing in his head. With the guns aside, Lincoln led Octavia, Clarke, and Anya forward into the dropship area surrounding them. Some of the people around were scratching their heads as to why Lincoln chose to stay and not run off with his grounder ally, while others figured Octavia had some sort of impact on him staying.

"Make this quick, Sky Girl. The sight of your people is already making me nauseous. The sooner we leave, the better. That's an order from me I expect you to follow." Clarke gave her a quick nod with a hint of confusion, putting the thought in her head that Anya was definitely uncomfortable being around people she saw as her enemy in a sudden ceasefire. With that in mind, Anya was still close by Clarke's side and refused to stray too far away.

"Why would you leave last night to find her, just to bring her back here, so you can leave again with her?" Regardless of, Octavia invaded Clarke's space for a much needed hug seeing that she was okay and not hurt or dead like some had already presumed. "I should've tagged along with you last night, I'm sorry. I could've grabbed Lincoln sooner."

"No need to apologize, O. I was selfish and reckless last night, but now I think I can help us avoid conflict with any more grounders and make new allies." Seeing the eyebrow quirking up on Octavia's face was enough to crack a smile on Clarke's. "Okay, hey. That means we won't end up dead for now. I missed you, if that counts for anything."

"Definitely counts for something. Missed you too." Octavia returned the smile easily being glad that nothing bad happened. With the two groups together edging conflict on one another, it remained to be seen where the next step would take them, and Clarke wanted to be the one to take that step for them. "Well then, princess. I'm with you from here on out. Tell us how to save our lives."

* * *

They gathered around the area of the dropship like they were in the middle of a meeting. Heading inside would have solved nothing, and Clarke was keeping herself on pace to not waste anymore time than she already thought she had. All guns were put down minus the few guards to the perimeter as watch keeping, but none were aimed.

"It was my idea to come back here first. I thought that if everyone knew that I was okay from leaving last night, no one would try and find me themselves." Clarke explained to her friends surrounding her. Even Raven Reyes, whom everyone loved to love, had found her way outside to see that Clarke was okay. "Anya has agreed to take me to the Commander of the land and plead our case so that we don't have to start an unwanted war."

"Plead our case? This is dumbest shit we're dealing with right now. Why not have Reyes build another bomb and teach them not to mess with us again?" Clarke had to gently grip onto Anya's wrist to keep from her murdering john Murphy in front of everyone for his comments. Not all knew that Raven's bomb killed Tris, and Anya wouldn't forgive and forget like anyone else would.

"Murphy shut the hell up, or I'll leave a bomb in your bed tonight." Raven warned.

Anya adverted her gaze to Clarke's hand on her wrist, allowing the blonde to keep it there as she took leadership upon her own people. She was almost impressed by it, reminding herself of the Commander herself in a way. The grounder also took note of Raven, remembering small details in her mind about her for later.

"May I continue? While I'm gone in that time, it'd be nice if everyone not attack or shoot anyone right away. Or take them hostage here. We can live in peace together here and help each other. And most importantly, no one else has to die. Both sides have already lost too many..."

War was never pretty for either sides. The grounders were easily the ones who were more known to it, having every clan of the land live together in peace was the ultimate goal under the Commander. Clarke drew the line with the death of Tris as well because her blood was on their hands forever, and it was haunting her. Tris was someone close to Anya. She couldn't imagine losing someone else other than her father like Octavia, Raven, Bellamy, or even Anya herself.

Searching in her back pocket which some found suspicious, Anya brought a cloth out that was folded up. Once she released the corners and held it up, it was the symbol of Trikru that only her and Lincoln were a part of. Clarke remembers seeing it posted around Anya's encampment from the morning.

"Right now your Skaiprisa is the only invader I have encountered that shows any signs of strength. Her life is balancing in my hands while she balances all of your lives in hers." Approaching Bellamy, who she sought was the next person in charge behind Clarke, Anya offered the flag over to him. "My Commander will give her one chance to convince her to call off any further acts of war on your people. Use this as a beacon until she returns, we will not attack unless shots are fired first."

Bellamy looked to Clarke for an okay to see if this was what she really wanted. By the soft look in her eyes, it was all he needed to accept Anya's gift of a temporary cease fire.

"I'm coming with you." Heads spun around towards Octavia Blake speaking up. Not many of them were aware of how spontaneous and out there Octavia had grown to be, so staying put in the dropship wasn't something that was constantly peeking her interest as opposed to being out there and seeing what the world was like. In this case, check out the so called Commander. "Looks better for our cause if you're not by yourself this time."

"Octavia..." Bellamy interrupted as he was approached by Lincoln face to face, giving him a stare down.

"I'll go with her." Lincoln said grimly. He trusted Octavia out of everyone that fell from the sky the most putting the capturing and torturing aside for now.

"We have two horses not far from here. You both will ride with us." Anya didn't refuse their company along for the trip, more of encouraging it in her mind for Clarke to be with a friend and for Lincoln to be out of captivity. "But we must leave now in order to be make up time, we can be in Polis by nightfall."

With the four grouping up towards the exit of the dropship area and no other objections were made, Clarke and Octavia looked back to their group with determination that they could succeed for the greater good of both sides. Bellamy nodded his head to Lincoln giving him the okay that he had his trust over watching over Octavia.

"We'll be back in a few days. When we do save us from going to war, then I think it'll be the appropriate time to throw a party." Clarke gave them a smile and headed off through the exit behind Anya, with Octavia and Lincoln quickly following behind them. Finally, she thought. Finally they were getting somewhere that wasn't butting heads with one another or an enemy.

Midnight and Crescent settled themselves to the trees Clarke and Anya tied them to. Octavia couldn't wait to check off riding a horse off of her list, and with Lincoln. Once untied, Anya motioned for Clarke to join her with Crescent so Octavia and Lincoln could take Midnight on the way to Polis.

"Do keep up. We will stop for a water break once we are more than halfway there." Anya directed to Lincoln and Octavia while she mounted her horse. Lincoln helped Octavia mount up on Midnight, and she instantly felt like it was home on top of one.

"She's tougher than she looks. I think we'll be fine. Lead the way" Clarke joined up with Anya, lightly wrapping her arms around the grounder's waist to keep steady. "Thank you." She whispered into Anya's ear and held herself close when Crescent started to move. For a split moment, cheek pressed against Anya's back, Clarke shut her eyes and imagined the dream of peace between their people. A world where they could protect each other, live as friends, and rebuild the place they read before the apocalypse happened.

Their next destination was to Polis to meet The Commander.

* * *

 _ **Quick Author's Note: My apologies for wait on this chapter! I'm still in the middle of deciding how long this short story will be. Nevertheless, please enjoy this chapter! And I'll hint that next chapter will have plenty more Clarke and Anya interaction, and yes, Lexa will be introduced in the story. Stay tuned and thank you again!  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

Clarke became unsure of how long she dozed off. It wasn't long, and it wasn't from fatigue. Being entangled with Anya and her arms wrapped securely around her body, head resting cheek first into her back. Sometimes she had her own fantasies, and this was one of them. She was curious if Anya could feel her heart pounding behind her, against her back. Clarke could only explain it being a cross between butterflies against her skin and safety in her heart.

The forest was quiet moving along. No armies were marching around, or scouts doing any reconnaissance. Anya ran through scenarios in her head of what her Heda was going to say or think about the given situation. She taught her to be fierce and fearless, but Heda was capable of making her own decisions when it came down to it. Whether or not she would deal with the Sky People now or later, Anya hope she would make the best choice forgoing in the future.

Octavia and Lincoln rode along closely to the side of them, and Octavia was keeping a close eye on Clarke. She caught the little smiles Clarke gave off and stolen glances to the grounder in front of her. She sensed there was something between them, there had to be if Clarke was willing to give her life back at the dropship for her. Neutrality had been far too gone.

"We stop for water at the next stream, not too far from here. Make it quick, we can arrive before sundown." Anya reminded them.

"Hey." Octavia called from the other horse. "Not that I'm totally against this idea but, what if they're not as friendly on the other side and we're just taken prisoner for our own execution?"

"O, please." Clarke gave a soft warning to her, only imagining what kind of trouble Octavia and Anya could get into with each other. "They have no reason to prepare for an execution. So please don't give them one."

"Yeah sure, put the blame on me for that." Octavia muttered.

Anya's eyes nearly rolled at their bickering. "If you would prefer I can slaughter you here and now. My people believe in torture rather quick death for prisoners. I am not like my people."

"Torture, huh. Sounds like our people are more alike than you think." It's been almost a week that Lincoln was held against his will by the Sky People, having parts of his skin slashed, blows to the body, burn marks. Little to their knowledge, it was part of grounder culture to teach their own people how to endure through situations as such. Anya kept her words to herself more so because she senses a fighting attitude with Octavia where they could butt heads with each other about anything until the point of physical exhaustion.

"I will not hesitate to drown her."

Clarke gave a soft sigh hoping their bickering wouldn't last too long. Bickering sometimes lead to fighting and if Anya and Octavia got into with each other physically it wouldn't bode well. She glanced at Midnight giving the horse a warm smile as it nodded its head to her. The rest of the the ride to the stream was met with silence. Lincoln was the quietest one among the group unsure of what was coming between the two sides, if they could ever co-exist with one another.

Stream water sounded in the distance. With the heat kicking up within the forest again everyone's hopes could settle for a cold drink, even Crescent and Midnight were fond of the sound of small waves crashing.

Dismounting their horses once close enough to the water, Octavia checked on Lincoln to make sure everything was okay not having heard the slightest grunt or noise come from him since the dropship really. He seemed okay to her giving her a content look, and that's when she pulled Clarke over with her. The four walked towards the water while the horses guided themselves, each kneeling down to grab a cold drink.

"Hey." Octavia nudged Clarke as she cupped her hands full of drank for a sip. "You want to include me in on what exactly is going on with you and the swamp assassin here?" Clarke gave her a confused look like it would throw Octavia off. It definitely didn't work. "Because, I don't know, you nearly gave your own life for her back there."

Clarke stole a glance at Anya who was standing beside Lincoln, both grounders keeping quiet amongst themselves. Anya still believed Lincoln betrayed them and found it hard to be within arms reach with wanting to turn him in alongside the entire of Skaikru.

"She saved my life, O. I don't think we'd be having this conversation right now if she didn't halt her people from attacking me." She sighed again hoping Octavia would understand. "I trust her. And maybe, just maybe, I think she's starting to trust me too. Can't you do the same?"

Octavia shrugged. "I want to, Clarke. Really I do. I guess you have my complete trust if we're still alive the second we meet their Commander. Otherwise...we're all dead."

"Anya won't let that happen." Clarke shook her head.

"Well, all due respect, Anya isn't the commander. I will trust you but I do not want to die. Octavia's Earth party is just getting started." Octavia shrugged cupping a cold handful of water to bring up to her mouth and gave a small splash at Clarke with a smirk. "All damn day baby!"

"Are you two done?" Anya grimaced from the other side of the water. "We have time to make up for." Without her seeing Octavia gave a huge eye roll. Even Clarke could tell they've only been there for only five minutes, another five wouldn't hurt.

"I'll talk to her."

Octavia nodded. "Hey Clarke. Just so you know in case we die, I know you checked me out when I went swimming. And I'm totally down if you wanna hit this before then or if things don't work out with Warrior Woman over there."

"Shut up, O." Clarke rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "I don't think you couldn't handle me anyway." She took a step forward to take a teasing shove to her shoulder. Their flirting altercation was soon cut off by a grunt in Anya's direction. Walking back over to where the two grounders were, Anya was the one who struck them with a glare.

"You ride with me." Anya glared into Octavia's unsettling eyes looking upon her. She was ignoring the look on Clarke's face when she said this. "Will there be a problem with this?"

Octavia shook her head. "Nope, no problem for me. It's hard for me to get jealous." Clarke wanted to wipe the tiny smirk off of Octavia's lips, and not with her own at this point. If she was being honest with herself, she never thought much about exploring anything with Octavia other than having a friendship with her. It didn't seem like the right time to start thinking about this especially when she caught Anya now looking at her.

"No problem from me either, Anya. Will you please lead the way for us?" Clarke sounded defeated and flashed the grounder woman a look of sadness within her eyes. After a look of defeat that she couldn't change her mind, Clarke climbed on top of Midnight and sat behind Lincoln, the two barely making eye contact, as his eyes were kept on Octavia. Midnight let out a grunt and shook its head to the decision that Anya made and sparked a tiny smile from Clarke's lips.

"Arms around me, tiny woman. If you fall, I will leave you behind and you will walk."

"Aye aye, captain." Octavia did as told, looking to Clarke for jealous hints. Though it sucked that she wasn't clinging onto Lincoln for the rest of the trip, it helped unfold her thoughts that Clarke had some feelings toward this grounder warrior. She was banking on that, for now, to be what wouldn't get them killed sooner rather than later.

Their next destination was the city of Polis.

* * *

"Hey Clarke, look familiar? This look like their version of the dropship."

"Um, kind of. It's a whole city, actually."

Midnight and Crescent trotted towards the fiery torches along the pathways towards the large city. It was true, there was a whole city of grounders out in the open, minus the many villages that reside outside the large walls. Approaching the gates, a squadron of grounder warriors looked on at the two sky people riding on the backs of their horses with a duo of their people. Though, seeing Anya, they stepped aside.

"The tower in the middle is where the Commander's home is. If you're lucky, they may meet with you tonight before rest." Anya muttered a phrase in Trigedasleng to the squad as they moved to open the gates for them. Lincoln understood it, hearing her say _'Watch for any sudden movements, especially the dark haired one.'_

It was common for the grounders to distrust everyone, especially those who were outsiders.

The group dismounted their horses at the stable where they were tied to be given a good amount of food and water for their travels. Clarke gave Midnight a few strokes before she followed along aside Anya. The people of the city have seen outsiders before, but haven't been met with a few from the sky in far too long.

"You two, listen closely to me." Anya made sure she was in between Clarke and Octavia for good measure and for their own safety. "We will escort you to the tower where you will be fed. The Commander has placed a policy where you are guests first, enemies later at their decision. Eat, then wait in your assigned quarters. Do not try anything or it's your death. I will see to the Commander once you have been fed, and maybe you will get your meeting. Am I speaking to deaf ears or am I understood?"

"You're understood, completely. Thank you." Clarke spoke up. "We won't go anywhere else, right Octavia?" The dark haired girl was glared at severely by the people of the city. She was relieved that Lincoln moved himself closer to her, offering some protection. Before things could get too crazy, they were escorted to the tower safely. Anya let out a sigh of relief that a riot didn't break out right away, surely she was thinking Heda would punish her for this.

"In here, sit and we will bring you whatever we have available. I'm off to see the Commander. Watch over them, would you?" Anya left Lincoln in charge, who didn't take well to his diminished role as babysitter of the Sky People. She was gone off to her Heda before Clarke could speak to her one last time.

Clarke and Octavia sat down at a stone-like table for twenty minutes. Nearly four servants came into the room offering what was almost like a buffet of food, each carrying a tray of food. Meat, vegetables, rice, bread. This was more food, not to mention better quality, than they've had up in space and even sent down with them on the dropship.

"Great. I guess if we die, we die having the best meal of our lives." Octavia didn't hesitate in grabbing as much as she could with both hands.

"You're too dramatic. But this does look really good. Imagine if we could have food like this all the time." Clarke told her. Not much was completely said after that as they took their time to feast on what the Grounder's Heda offered to them. Only Octavia asking Lincoln if he was going to join them eating, eventually he did. He needed to rebuild hid strength taken from him in captivity, and grounder food always excelled.

"Hey, you hear something?" Octavia notices the sounds of doors opening and closing, and footsteps beginning to clap like thunder throughout the building. They got even louder and closer, Clarke and Octavia stood up from the table only guessing they were coming for them.

The doors opened, the two women tensing up to a group of grounders barging into the room. Down the middle they split, allowing room for Anya to emerge through them. Her eyes painted black leaking down to the sides, long sleeved leather jacket complete with the furred hood. Her glare went to Octavia, to Lincoln, and finally landed on Clarke, showing no signs of the grounder who allowed Clarke to sleep in the same bed with her.

"Sky Princess, it's your lucky day. The Commander, our Heda, has agreed to have a meeting with you and the time for that is now. Come now, follow us."

* * *

Little time was wasted getting Clarke and Octavia out of the dining area and climbing up countless sets of stairs towards the top of the tower. Clarke and Octavia stuck close to each other, and Clarke trailed herself behind Anya so she wouldn't feel lost in the crowd of grounders around them. Giant doors opened to the top and final room of the ruined building.

The place was filled with other grounders but dressed in much better fashion than its warrior kind. No such thing as torn rags and ropes, instead the like of soft silk and cotton. A few were even in dresses, Clarke noticed.

An echo of a loud Trigdasleng accent hit the walls of the room, and from there, all eyes went straight forward to the throne that sat in the middle of the room. There finally, Clarke saw for the first time who their Commander really was. She looked on in awe. Her eyes tried not to stare because she hoped it wouldn't be disrespectful but...their Commander was young. Their Commander looked about her and Octavia's age, and there was no denying this, but she was absolutely beautiful. And her eyes, her green eyes, throwing on a piercing glare that was almost as deadly looking as Anya's could be.

"Octavia." Clarke whispered to her, gesturing hand down. "Down. Kneel. Trust me." Octavia followed suit to Clarke getting down on their knees together to bow before the Commander out of respect. The room was still painfully quiet, elders looking to their superior for some sort of lashing or punishment. And still. they knelt in their in silence while she stared at them, even Anya was starting to question things at the moment.

"My name is Commander Alexandria Woodsboro. You may call me Commander Lexa for short. Last names aren't exactly a thing in this world anymore. None the less, you will remember my name from this day forward." Lexa spoke with strength and honor in her voice among her people. "You are known as the Sky People. Address me with your names."

"Clarke Griffin." She spoke first. "This is my friend, Octavia Blake. We come in peace, Commander Lexa."

Lexa nearly scoffed. "Do you hear that? Peace. What you speak of is the complete opposite of your approach to us. You have attacked my people. You have enslaved my people. You have disrespected and killed my people. Your lives are hanging by a thread that is being held between my fingers, and you come here before me? Begging for your life?"

Lexa's speech fell short, those green eyes of hers widening up when Clarke stood back up on her feet and took a few steps toward her. There was no fear in her eyes ever, Anya being the one to grab and restrain Clarke for moving any further on her Commander.

"Begging for my life?" Clarke asked back to Lexa with a good amount of frustration found in her voice. "The people at my camp were sent down here to see if this land was still salvageable, still livable, so we could all come back down and rebuild a life down here. From the second that happened, _you_ are the one who's attacked, disrespected, killed, struck fear into them."

"Calm yourself now, Skaiprisa." Anya warned quietly in her ear.

"You attacked us first, so we counterattacked and now you're scared you've made another enemy." Clarke continued on even as Anya's hold on her tightened. "I left my people in the middle of the night to find yours because this isn't what either of our sides need. We can help each other survive and grow." Lexa listened but was more interested at the looks that she saw Anya was giving Clarke, how close their bodies were together as she restrained her.

"What makes you think we need help from you? You have no idea what resources and power we possess outside this city." Lexa responded with before spoke something in Trigdasleng. Anya immediately released Clarke from her arms and took her step back from the blonde. "Leave us, please. This matter will be discussed more in private." Every grounder in the room muttered the term ' _Heda'_ as they proceeded to gather themselves together and through the doors Clarke and Octavia were brought in, making the much filled room empty. The only grounders that remained her Lexa, Anya, Lincoln, and Lexa's servant who people called Titus. Lexa assured him everything would be okay and asked him to leave as well.

"What's going on?" Octavia whispered to Anya who blatantly ignored her.

"Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake of Skaikru." Lexa addressed them in a calmer tone and stood up from her throne to approach them. "It is not my will or wish to sentence you and your people to death nor do I believe it is your mission to cause harm to ours." Her eyes bounced back and forth from Anya to Clarke, occasionally to Octavia and Lincoln who she was thankful for being safe. "But a pressing matter is still at hand. An important member of my clan was killed in an explosion caused by one of your own. Her name was Tris and she had a promising future among my ranks. What I want is to visit your people, meet the person responsible, and have them tried for their crimes. From then, maybe an alliance an be formed."

"Her name is Raven, she is among them in their encampment." Clarke and Octavia's head shot quickly towards Anya as she outed their friend, the person who built the bomb and killed Tris. "She won't go without a fight, Heda. And neither will these two."

"Whoa hang on." Octavia butted herself in. "You can't just storm onto our camp and take Raven."

"Really?" Lexa responded in a sort of a cocky way. "Why don't you ask Lincoln if he felt the same way when you took him from us." The tension rose high between the grounders and Octavia. Their looks toward each other made it seem like they would have it right there in the throne room, and Octavia's odds weren't very high against the very skilled fighters.

"We'll take you to our camp and you can meet with Raven." Clarke stepped in front of Octavia to shield her from Lexa and Anya. "But there needs to be a treaty made or something. You don't attack us, we don't attack you. And you will not hurt Raven in any way. I want your word, Commander." Clarke and Lexa stared each other down, as both leaders of their people should. Except only Lexa knew there were bigger problems than another clan forming from the sky, she wanted to use it as an advantage.

"Well, Clarke kom Skaikru, I will assure you we will not attack your people unless we are attacked first. However, I will not promise no harm against your friend. We will leave tomorrow after sunrise, I suggest a good nights rest." Lexa proceeded past Clarke and Octavia adjourning their meeting, Anya following close behind her. with Lincoln trailing with them. "We have quarters here for you to sleep in for the night. You may join me in mine for the night if you'd wish, Clarke."

With that being said, Lexa exited the room with Lincoln following her out. Clarke stood there dumbfounded unsure if the Commander really just flirted and hit on her, inviting Clarke to her room to sleep in. She looked to Anya who even seemed a little caught off guard by the notion. Her eyes quickly found Clarke's then tore them away immediately from being seen as vulnerable.

"Follow me and I will take you to your sleeping quarters. If you wish to stay in the Commander's quarters, I will escort you there. Let's go." Anya didn't leave an option open for a response, she took to the doors urging Octavia and Clarke to follow along. If Octavia weren't next to them, Clarke would've asked if anything was wrong. She wasn't the only one who thought Lexa's offer was a bit much for their first meeting. Even worse, Clarke put the thought in her head that it would affect the decision on Raven's life if she didn't.

* * *

"This is getting so out of hand, Clarke. We risked our lives and now we're risking Raven's life. Hell, we're risking everyone's lives doing this." Octavia vented while she sprawled out on the what she believed to be the most comfortable bed she's ever been on. "Shit, this is so comfortable. Lay down on these beds, Griffin."

Clarke shook her head as she paced around their sleeping quarters. Their meeting with the Commander hadn't exactly gone the way that she hoped it would, nor did it end the way she thought it would either. She raised her a hand up to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear, catching the gaze of Octavia again.

"Remember when I said you could hit this? After watching you stand up to Lexa to defend us, you can definitely get into my pants." Octavia smirked only being half serious, though she would if Clarke took her up on it.

"If we don't think of something that can help protect Raven, they could kill her. I won't lose another person, and I won't lose Raven." Clarke pressed to the dark haired girl, ending the sentence with a sigh. "I already told you, O. You couldn't handle me. Although if our lives ended tonight, I wouldn't mind seeing what it'd be like with you." She humored Octavia finding it strangely odd how many people were starting to throw themselves at her. That was something that Anya didn't do, and Clarke liked that. "But we're so close right now to being on some sort of terms with these people, I can feel it. I know we can co-exist if both sides tried."

"I don't know, Clarke." Octavia flipped over onto her stomach and rested her chin against her hands. "It's sort of a bust trying to get two sides that want to fight each other to get along. Usually it takes a common enemy to force both groups to work together as one."

Clarke's eyebrow raised up with a questionable smile on her lips. "Where the hell did you get that from, oh wise one?"

"Join me in bed and I'll tell ya." Octavia flashed her a wink. A knock to their door startled the two of them and Clarke insisted Octavia to not get up. "I don't suppose they have room service here, do they?"

Clarke sighed again and opened the door slowly to see which of the grounders had decided to pay them a late night visit when they were supposed to get ready for rest. Another long journey back to the drop ship, they're certainly going to need all the sleep they can get. And if things don't go they way they should, it could be the last rest for people on both sides.

Surprisingly enough, it was the grounder Clarke had hoped it would be. She nodded her head to Octavia and stepped outside of their room, shutting the door behind her to talk with Anya in private. She wasn't out of her armor, making Clarke assume that maybe she didn't sleep in clothes here either.

"Yes, Anya? Has something come up?" Clarke asked quietly taking in a deep breath as they exchanged stares to one another.

"Commander Lexa would like me to inform you before rest once more that her chambers are open to you if you wish." Clarke immediately shook her head without thought, pushing a sigh from Anya's body this time. "Hmm. Very well, Skaiprisa. I suggest highly that you rest now for the journey back home tomorrow." The warrior grounder's body barely made a turn to the opposite direction when Clarke's hand fell upon her wrist, catching her off guard. Her eyes met Clarke's again, this gaze she recognized from the other night, with fear plagued in them. Without another thought in her head, Clarke took a chance and pressed herself against Anya's body for a hug, looking for some sort of comfort in the embrace.

"I'm scared, Anya." An shaking exhale followed that sentence. "I told you that I was looking for a way to stop this war before it started and now I'm getting the feeling I've only added for fuel to the fire. I don't want anyone else to die." The blonde's arms wrapped gently around Anya's body, desperately wanting to squeeze tighter, but only tight enough for obvious reasons. The grounder woman could break away at any time, but chose not to, even if her arms remained at her sides.

"Let me tell you something I told the Commander when she was in training under me. Do not let your fears or your worries control you, for they will blind you from what lies ahead. And it is not wise to trail down a dark path blind." Anya said softly to Clarke letting her take a few more seconds to regain control of herself before she broke their hug up. "You knew this wasn't going to be an easy task, you stood up and fought for your people in that room. Don't lose yourself now otherwise you will struggle with why you left your people in the first place."

Anya's way with her words comforted Clarke, nodding in agreement that she had to stay strong for her people and keep fighting for an alliance so that they all could survive together, united as one. The connection she felt she had with Anya was something she couldn't explain thoroughly, how she was able to hold herself together with Octavia but unraveled with Anya. It started to show the levels of trust in a closer way.

"Thank you, Anya. I don't know what I would've done without you." Clarke expected a quip back at her, a hint towards being lost or dead, but nothing. Instead, the blonde gave her a smile. "Is there any chance that I could stay with you in your sleeping quarters tonight?"

There was a small pause from Anya which threw Clarke off again like she was thinking it over. "I think it would be best for tonight for that not to happen. For tonight."

"But another night?" Clarke asked. "There are, um, some things I'd like to talk about with you."

"Sometimes, sky girl, you talk too much." Anya took the time with her decision to take a leap of faith herself much like Clarke was doing to unite their people together. And if there was no one else, Clarke was making a believer out of Anya. Their bodies still close, Anya's hand found the side of Clarke's cheek, pulling the blonde even closer, and united their lips together for a long awaited kiss. It had been too long since either of them had felt this way before. Their lips glided together again for another kiss, this time deeper, so that they could get lost with each other and shut everything else out in that moment together.

Clarke savored each lasting second in Anya's embrace, moving her lips for one more kiss so that she wouldn't have to land again and face their problems the next day. She was catching her breath, clinging her hands onto the sides of the grounder's leather jacket, cursing herself for Octavia being twenty feet away from them on the other side of the door.

"Rest, Skaiprisa. And rest well." Anya traced her thumb down Clarke's flashing her the tiniest of smiles before she forced herself to walk away to get to her chambers for the night. Clarke watched until she couldn't watch her anymore turning a corner down the hall. Her mind and emotions were tossed completely thrown back up into the air, but her lips curled into a smile, finding a sliver of happiness among the chaos. She entered back into her room where Octavia was completely passed out.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway hiding away in the shadows, was Titus who had saw their whole interaction, itching to warn Lexa of his observations.

Their next destination was back to the dropship.

* * *

 _ **Quick Author's Note: Damn. It's been almost two years since I've updated this story, I made this chapter sort of extra longer than the other to make up for it and I hope everyone enjoys it! My deepest apologies for the wait, my life took some turns since the last update and all, it's better under control now. Nevertheless, the story continues and let's hope for a swift update next time around. Thank you thank you!  
**_


End file.
